03/30/06 — Man sought for murder

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Man sought for murder

By Jack Stephens
Published in News on March 30, 2006 1:50 PM

A driver was shot in the head Wednesday and died today at a Greenville hospital, Goldsboro police reported.

The victim, Fredrick A. Coleman, 31, of Hopesway Drive, Dudley, had been taken by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he was stabilized, and then transferred to Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

William Earl Bandy

Bandy

Coleman was traveling south at 2:57 p.m. on South Alabama Avenue at West Spruce Street, where he was shot, a police report said. The car then ran off the left side and struck a fire hydrant at Whitted Court.

By 3:30 p.m., Goldsboro police and Crime Scene Investigators were on the scene. Neighbors watched as they taped off the crime scene and diverted traffic from the intersection.

A passenger, Alicia Brown of Dudley, told police that a man had run up to the side of the car, spoke to Coleman and then shot him.

Patrol officers and investigators responded, interviewed witnesses and developed a suspect.

An arrest warrant charging William Earl Bandy, 25, with the crime was to be upgraded today from attempted murder to murder, said police Maj. Jay Memmelaar, who supervises the investigations division.

Bandy was described as black, 6 feet tall and 170 to 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Police have not revealed a motive for the shooting.

Bandy and Coleman have long criminal records.

The car, registered to Coleman's housemate, Chris M. Leonerd, was demolished in the wreck. The 17-year-old auto was valued at $1,500.